Wrapped Around my Fingers
by FA Specialist
Summary: After coming from a concert, Chiaki found a note under the door at Nodame's apartment saying a man came by looking for Nodame and introducing himself as her fiance.  What will Chiaki do?


I don't own Nodame Cantabile

WRAPPED AROUND MY FINGERS

By Treasure

11162011

Chiaki found a note on the floor at his former flat, owned by his mother's family; now entirely occupied by Nodame, as they enter the room coming from a concerto conducted by Jean Donadue.

The note says: Nodame, a gentleman arrived looking for you. He looked European/Asian to me and introduced himself as Kenji Matsumoto, your fiancé. Didn't say anything else except he'd be back. And the note was signed by their landlady.

"Oi Nodame, is this some kind of a joke? Didn't know you are engage to a certain Kenji what's his face." Chiaki made a tart comment and threw the note towards the sofa like a small boomerang.

"Mukya! I don't know a person by that name! Or maybe he's from our old school?"

"Whatever. I'm going now because I have an early practice tomorrow. Don't forget to lock the door." He then kissed Nodame on her forehead then left.

"Mukya!"

Their relationship has been on the relaxed side now. Though Chiaki could still not bring himself to say "I love you" to her openly, he tries to spend more time with her whenever possible. He tries to spend weekends with her, and cook dinner at least twice a week and calls her during practice break just to remind her to do the laundry after school. She too, on the other hand would text him not to forget to bring his used shirt for her to hold tight at night, which he oblige but not before telling her "baka".

Tomorrow after the practice he surely would be back in her apartment to cook for her one of his favourite pasta dish "Penne in double cream with shrimp and broccoli topped with parmesan cheese", he would bring baguette to make garlic bread a good pair with the pasta.

It always make him laugh to see how Nodame appreciate his cooking ability even if what he is making is anything but leftover tossed in together. Her "mukya" and "gyabo" would surely fill the apartment and would surely be rewarded with Bach, Beethoven, Mozart or Rachmaninov, a reward which he awaits once a week.

Nodame was nowhere to be found in the apartment when Chiaki arrived and he doesn't mind that. Sometimes Professor Charles Auclair will detain Nodame for more than thirty minutes if he feels that his student is slacking for the day, or if he feels that he needs to emphasize certain part of the score or reprimand her when she tends to compose.

Today, Chiaki decided that he will leave some cash for Nodame. He noticed the night before that Nodame had been skimping on groceries because she bought a new Puri Gorota tankobon (which cost more in France). He sometimes turn a blind eye on her vices, anyway there are only two, food and anything Puri Gorota. As far as he knew, Nodame has only been able to send money to her family in Fukuoka only twice since they arrived in Paris more than a year ago. Although she was able to earn her own, her salon performances are far in between and the rate is only a little better than entry rate.

"Tadaima!" Nodame called as she entered the apartment. She practiced this everyday even if there's no one to greet her, but today there's Chiaki to greet her back.

"You better freshen up I'm almost done with the pasta."

"Hai!" She oblige hurriedly afraid to annoy the best chef she knew.

They were in the middle of their supper when a knock on the door was heard.

"Who could that be?" Chiaki stood to open the door.

"Maybe its Tanya or Frank must have smelled your cooking." She said a matter of fact as she forked some more broccoli and shrimp from her plate.

"Good evening, I'm looking for a certain Megumi Noda, I am Kenji Matsumoto her fiancé." The stranger introduced himself in halting French.

Chiaki went to haughty mode and seize the stranger with his eyes. The stranger was dressed to a T, silver gray suit, indigo button up shirt with darker blue tie. He has the air of confidence like a seasoned businessman although he appears to be not much older and taller than Chiaki. He seems to have a racial mixture of both Asian and European; his nose is as chiselled and his profile may even look better at some angles than Chiaki.

"But sempai, I don't even know this guy!" Nodame went explaining while they are all seated on the sofa. Chiaki was still glaring at the other man.

"Me too, I know nothing about her, not until two weeks ago when I came across some documents from my father's estate." The stranger agreed.

With his statement, Chiaki's eyes became more suspicious. "And how is that?"

"Well, I was checking all the documents that my father left two weeks ago. Checking for all receivables and payables, properties to be settled, taxed and levied, when I came across with this contract between my father and your father." Kenji handed them a two pager document. "Of course that is only a copy; I need to protect the original." He eased on his seat.

A sweat drop is forming on Chiaki's forehead as he goes through with the document. A double sweat drop appeared when he saw the signatures at the bottom of the document. The document was signed by Nodame's father and witnessed by her mom.

"What does it say?" Nodame's heart rate was almost in the maximum speed as she observes Chiaki's reaction to what he was reading.

Kenji answered for her when Chiaki failed to say something. "It simply states that your father has made a huge loan from my father for the primary purpose of buying a fishing boat and paraphernalia for seaweed culture. The loan has to be paid in seven years but up to now; it has been ten years from the time it was drawn, not a single centavo has been paid to my father or to his estate. Therefore, it is now due and demandable and of course with just interest."

"But what has it got to do with me?" She's getting nervous as she remembered the time when her dad bought a new boat and promised to them that they'll be living in a better life from that day on. But there had been bad days, bad weather condition, poor water quality, fishing sanctions and other stuff that affect the family income. There are times when her dad has to borrow money from one or two loan sharks; those were needed to be paid first.

"It has got everything to do with you. As of now only you can save you father from being imprisoned!"

"What?"

"Actually your family has four options. One, your family has to pay that loan, immediately. Second, your father will be sent to prison for non payment of loans. Third, the sheriff's office can and will seize and auction all your property and the proceeds will pay off all his debts. Fourth, the least embarrassing and the most practical one, is for you to marry me. I'll treat all those debts as dowry/marriage gift to you and that loan will be written off."

"But can you not just write off those loans without me marrying you? I don't know you and you don't know me either. I don't know how to cook except rice, no housekeeping talent either, so I won't be any use to you!" Nodame was making excuses while she was peeking from behind Chiaki's sleeve.

Chiaki seemed to have woken up from his stupor. "Yes, that is correct; she can't be your wife. She doesn't know how to cook or clean the house. She's weird in all essence of that word. She has the habit of neglecting her bath, doing so only thrice a week and only washes her hair once every three days. She uses her street clothes two or three days in a row. In short she has a hygiene problem." He seemed very enthusiastic in saying all of Nodame's negative points.

Nodame has never sweat dropped like this in her life. She tugged Chiaki's sleeve. "Sempai, that is too much!" She dropped her head in shame.

But those comments did not dampen Kenji's spirit. He even made a toothy grin at Nodame, showing his crooked tooth (his one imperfection that made him look adorable; and it made a tiny twitch at her heart). "That would not be a problem. She can have an assistant that will attend to her needs like a butler. We have servants to do the housekeeping, no need to show any housekeeping talent. What I need right now is someone I can introduce as a wife. I've heard that she's a piano prodigy; that is a plus sign. I can entertain my guest with her talent alone. "

"But that's beside the point. Surely with your looks you have plenty of swooning girls to choose from to be your wife." Chiaki's brow raised a bit with those comments from Nodame, is she flattering the guy?

"I know what you mean. Yes, there are several ladies in the line-up, but nobody seems to fit the bill like you. Besides I need to get something out of that contract. We are not talking here of some lose change but a bit of a fortune." Kenji transferred his sight from Nodame to Chiaki then back to Nodame. "I'm not a bad person, just a business man who'd like to keep an eye on my receivables. If you can be with me for at least two years; besides writing off the loan I will give you a token of considerable value before the divorce." He gave Nodame another toothy grin, and then he looked at Chiaki. "I'm giving you one week to decide on what option to take; and within that time frame, I would like to get to know more about Miss Noda. Miss Noda, please expect me to pick you up from school on Thursday. Good night!"

"I don't want to go to school today, sempai."

"And why is that?" The music conductor was glaring at Nodame.

"That Kenji said he would pick me up after school. I don't want to go with him. He might take me away and might not see you again." The infamous pout was even longer and twitching.

"I don't think he will harm you. But to make sure, don't let Frank or Tanya or that kid Lucas out of sight as long as what's his face is around. If he says he would take you to a restaurant or out of the campus, grab any of the three. You are not to be alone with him. Understand?"

"Hai sempai!"

"Stop, stop! Horn, softer please. Viola, your bowing technique is quarter note late. Clarinet, please change your reed." Chiaki seemed annoyed and less focused almost the whole orchestra practice.

This did not escape Kuroki's observation, so he decided to talk to Chiaki once the conductor signalled for a short break.

"Is something the matter?"

"What do you mean, Kuroki?" Chiaki returned the question with another question.

"You seemed to be bothered by something other than orchestra matters. I know it's not my place to ask question but it seems that you can use a helping hand with this one."

"Do I really look that problematic?"

"Your mood and the dark circles round your eyes can spell something is not good with you personally." Kuroki hit a bull's eye.

"It's something about Nodame."

"Nodame-chan?"

Chiaki decided to tell all to Kuroki, he wanted to know the other man's opinion on a case like this. He really wanted to help Nodame. Although he wouldn't admit it, he's losing sleep over her problem. Knowing that if that Kenji guy would be able to take Nodame away and for him not to be able to hear her play piano again made his stomach churn and his head spin.

Chiaki may be on denial with regards to his feelings about the piano prodigy, but he can't lie to himself anymore, some of his decision is now affected by Nodame. If the girl doesn't like the smell of new cologne, he won't buy it. If she would suggest a shirt colour, he would try to find it. If she likes pasta, pasta it is. If she likes fish, he would make time to buy fresh fish, except if he's in a bad mood he would bully her with every kind of canned meat, which he finds getting less. He even ordered her to make a list of music titles that she wanted to hear from his orchestra. So now, if she decide to take the easy way out for her father, he is very certain that there will be a big void in his life.

"So, if you were Nodame, what would you do?" He directed the question at Kuroki.

Kuroki took a while before he gave a reply. "She may have a different answer than me, but if I fall in that situation, I may choose a solution that will unburden my aged father or any family member as well. If the new contract will specify that I would only pose as a diligent spouse for two years, I may agree to that. As for emotional relations, there is a high probability that it will develop on the basis of kindness and thoughtfulness, a bonus if the guy is funny and good looking too."

Chiaki sweat dropped, what's his face is good looking indeed and there is a hint of thoughtfulness in him too. Now, it seems that there is a problem that needs an urgent solution than that of Mr. Noda's.

"Thank you Kuroki. Maybe tonight we'll reach a solution for that problem. If you'll excuse me, I need to talk to Thomas, the secretary.

Nodame was asleep and drooling on the sofa when Chiaki arrived at her apartment around ten that night. He didn't expect her to arrive before him from the "date" with Kenji. He wanted to act cook and nonchalant about her "date" but deep inside he's dying for an update from her.

"Oi, Nodame, you're drooling and why is that you are sleeping here on the sofa?" He shook her shoulder to wake her up.

"Sempai . . . . ." She touched her eye by the back of her hand. "I was waiting for you, but I'm so tired that I didn't know I've fallen asleep."

"Waiting for me? Why?" He asked as he got water from the refrigerator.

"I was worried that you have not eaten."

"Baka Nodame. Worried about a grown-up man like me being hungry. " He grumble to himself, but he was happy that Nodame thought of him the whole time. "You could have just called than wait here the whole time. What if I didn't drop by today? You would have catch cold here in the living room."

"Sempai . . . . ."

"By the way, how was your date with 'what's his face'?"

"It was tiring. We went to the Eifel Tower, Louvre, and we climb the Arc de Thriomphe."

"And what did you ate?"

"We went to this Asian restaurant; he ordered at least one specialty food from a particular Asian country. He said that even if I haven't been to another Asian country, we need to know how their food tastes, but of course I also asked for unagi." She tilted her head in pleasure as she remembered the taste of good food a while back; which earned her a bump on the head from Chiaki's fist. "Sempai . . . . "

"I need to go now. I have lots of things to do in the morning. Lock the door after I leave. Sleep on the bed and not on the sofa." And Chiaki stormed out of her apartment.

The next day . . . . . . .

Nodame received a call from Chiaki a few minutes after twelve. "Oi, Nodame, I know your classes today is only until twelve pm, so where are you know? I'm waiting near your building entrance for fifteen minutes but I still haven't seen your unwashed hair!"

"Mukya! Sempai is waiting for Nodame at the building's entrance?" Nodame was so happy and excited that Chiaki is waiting for her at school. She's sporting that famous pout of hers.

"That's what I said. What I'm asking you, is where you are now? We need to go somewhere today."

"Hai, Sempai. I'm here at the cafeteria with Lucas. I'll be there in a moment." Chiaki heard her saying goodbye to Lucas before she could switch off her phone.

"What have you eaten at the cafeteria?" Enquired Chiaki. It was twenty minutes after they've left the conservatory grounds. He had no intention of talking to her until they've reached the boarder but he heard her stomach grumbling.

"Nothing. We're about to order but your call came in and I had to leave Lucas."

"Okay, I guess we need to eat first and buy some bottled water for the travel."

"Are we going to meet Vierra Sensei somewhere out of Paris?" She asked Chiaki as they ate their lunch, their first pit stop.

"I was considering that, but his manager hasn't returned my call yet so I don't know where he is now. It would be nice if he's going to be our witness."

Nodame doesn't understand what Chiaki was saying, so she just asked "What time are we coming back, I need to practice two Schumann pieces until Monday, and I don't have my stuff if we're going to stay overnight."

"They're in the trunk. I took the liberty of packing them for you. It's a good thing that you've already learned to organize your stuff or else I would have thrown everything in the garbage." The conductor gave the piano prodigy a smirk.

"You. . . . . you . . . you went through my undies? Mukya!" Nodame's face was as red as beetroot.

Chiaki gave her a broader smirk. 'Just as I thought, she maybe a hentai but she's sensitive about those things.'

To hide her shame, she changed the topic. 'Ano . . . . . About my father's loan, I had decided that I'm going back to Japan, and borrow money from a loan shark to pay off Kenji. It will give me a bit of time to find money to pay the new loan."

"Baka Nodame. Don't you think that by doing that you will just create a bigger problem? Each time you borrow money, you will need bigger amount to pay-off an existing loan."

"Sempai . . . ." She looked at him with sad eyes.

"I got a better proposition. You'll know what after Prague."

Shinichi had been expecting to meet that Kenji guy any day since the day they've returned from Prague. That was about almost a year ago. Although Kenji did not show up for the past year, doesn't mean that they're off the hook, a loan is still a loan and that guy said he does look after his properties.

They both save every coin they've had; they needed to pay him off as soon as they can. Now they have enough to pay the loan completely plus some spare, but it seems that another problem is looming. Shinichi knows what it cost to pay Nodame's impending hospital bill. Now he needed to talk to his mom about it.

Today, Shinichi did not attend his orchestra practice. They were only to get her checked up but the doctor said that it was almost time; and sure enough she did went to labour that morning. They had twin sons. The boys got their father's nose and forehead, while they took their mother's lips and chin. They're identical except Shinomori, the eldest has a mole on his left temple at the end of his eyebrow. While Shinta, the younger one had a small red birthmark on his left upper arm.

Shinichi's mom flew at once to France when she heard that Nodame gave birth to his sons. Luckily she was around Europe that time. She was so happy to see them all, she even volunteered to take care of her grandchildren for a week out of her busy social schedule.

Shinichi was so glad with that help. He had very little time to read parenting book and was afraid to goof off when it comes to diaper change and feeding time. But in his heart everything is well worth it.

They've almost forgotten about "what's his face Kenji", as it had been a year and a half they've heard from him when Shinichi received a letter from him congratulating Shinichi among many things.

"Congratulations Mr. Chiaki Shinichi for marrying Ms. Noda Megumi and for having those wonderful twin boys, and not to mention that outstanding Roux Marlett Orchestra you are handling."

"You probably have wondered why I did not comeback for the loan payment. Well I guess you now have the right to know that we have used that for you to sort out your feelings with Ms. Noda. We used it as a leverage to force you to decide on Ms. Noda's worth to you. And with that it has been a win-win situation for all of us."

"By the way, you can keep your money. I had found a separate document saying Mr. Noda had paid my father in full on the sixth year of the contract and he has no other obligation with my father. I should have told you earlier about the payment document but; a certain old man with milk for a surname, had bullied me in continuing with the claim and add more drama and artistic effect with that. I guess he was right based on the outcome of events." End of Kenji's letter.

"That Jiji!" Shinichi gave the letter a double smirk, come to think of it, he and Nodame had been wrapped around the old man's finger the whole time.

FIN.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading. If you're kind enough to leave a comment, I would appreciate much. Domo Arigatou. (",)


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